


Whumptober 2020 - 12 - Done

by Celticgal1041



Series: Whumptober 2020 [12]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Broken Bones, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celticgal1041/pseuds/Celticgal1041
Summary: “H’rts,” he sobbed out, his breathing shallow and laboured.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949548
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 2020 - 12 - Done

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a continuation of my day 9 prompt fill - Wrong Place. While I don't think it's necessary to read that one first, I'd be thrilled if you did. Enjoy!

From my day 9 prompt fill - Wrong Place:

_TC nodded slowly, still holding their friend now partly sprawled over his lap. His gaze was fixed on the investigator’s neck and shoulder, and his eyes were wide as he asked, “Is that bone poking out of his skin?”_

* * *

Given Magnum’s luck, it had been unsurprising that it had, in fact, been bone poking out through the man’s skin. The sight had turned both TC and Rick’s stomachs and had one of the uniformed officers accompanying them scurrying for a convenient bush where he lost his last meal. Everyone had been grateful when the protruding bone had been carefully covered with one of the men’s donated undershirts.

Their goal when they’d set out that morning had been simple: track Thomas and the men who’d taken him. For that reason, they were well armed, but not so much when it came to medical supplies. “I should’ve known better,” Rick griped as he swiped a hand across his face in frustration. “When has he ever not needed medical attention?” he asked rhetorically as he paced once more along the length of the Heiau.

TC looked up at Wright from his place on the ground, unwilling to shift their friend any more than necessary. “Calm down, Orville,” he said, intentionally using the man’s given name to get his attention. “Katsumoto will get medivac to pick him up, and he’ll be tucked up into a warm bed with good drugs before we even make it back to our cars.”

Rick nodded absently in agreement, his gaze switching over to the detective who was engrossed in conversation on his phone. “What’s taking so long?” he asked when Gordon didn’t immediately end his call and give them an ETA on the helicopter’s arrival.

“He probably has to give at least a brief report to his superiors,” Calvin offered, knowing well the ills of bureaucracy.

Finally, Katsumoto ended his call and made a beeline for their position. His expression seemed less than impressed, which made Rick twitch as his anxiety flared in anticipation of bad news. “They’re not coming,” Wright stated pre-emptively, praying the detective would immediately correct him.

Katsumoto pressed his fingers into his eyes as he sighed, dropping his hand a moment later to confirm Rick’s statement. “No,” he replied, thinning his lips for a second as he searched for the right words to explain. “There’s been a massive accident on one of the highways, with several people in critical condition. They’re getting as many people out via ambulance as possible, but the gridlock in and around the accident site is making access virtually impossible.”

“They’ve prioritized the accident victims above Thomas,” TC finished for him, having already connected the dots.

Katsumoto nodded, his shoulders and back ramrod straight with tension. “We have no choice but to carry him out,” he stated, knowing full well the task that lay ahead of them.

“Alright,” Rick replied, nodding his head as he renewed his pacing. “Alright,” he repeated, now staring at the ground as he began formulating a plan.

Before he could take more than a dozen steps, Magnum groaned, showing the first signs of life since he’d fallen from the rack where he’d been restrained. “Tommy?” TC asked. Part of him had hoped the man would remain unconscious until they’d gotten him some medical help, but the other part was secretly relieved that their friend was finally showing signs of life.

Thomas’ head lolled minutely to one side, pulling a yelp from his throat as his eyes widened at the sudden pain. “Hey, it’s okay,” Rick soothed, having dropped to his knees next to the man at the first signs of awareness. Placing a hand on Magnum’s cheek, he made sure the P.I. wouldn’t make any more sudden movements that would cause him more pain.

“You back with us?” Wright asked, looking down at the investigator who was now blinking owlishly. 

“Yeah,” Magnum tried to say, his dry throat strangling the word and making it almost incoherent.

Without being asked, Katsumoto handed Rick a bottle of water, the latter man uncapping it and holding it to the injured man’s lips. “Just a little for now,” Wright instructed, allowing only a couple swallows before pulling the bottle away. At the disappointed expression on Magnum’s face, he said, “You can have more in a little while.”

Thomas’ gaze shifted between the men around him, finally settling on the wooden frame that had held him. “You have no idea how glad I am that you guys found me,” he said, the gratitude clear on his face.

“Yeah, us too, Tommy,” Rick agreed, letting him know with that simple statement how worried they’d been.

Katsumoto cleared his throat to get Magnum’s attention. “Uh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ll have to carry you out of here.”

Thomas’ gaze automatically moved to his friends, the question obvious in his expression. “Big accident that has all the medivac choppers tied up,” TC summarized, knowing the former SEAL would understand.

“Okay,” Magnum replied. “Help me up.”

“Whoa!”

“No!”

The responses fell out one over the other in reaction to Thomas’ words. Steeling his gaze, he announced, “I’m walking out of here.”

“Just give us half an hour and we’ll rig something up…” Rick began.

“No,” Magnum interrupted him.

“TM, you’ve got a broken collarbone,” Calvin countered, hoping to persuade the stubborn man.

“Then wrap my arm with something to stabilize it,” Thomas instructed.

“Tommy,” Rick softened his tone. “Walking is gonna hurt like hell.”

“Any worse than when we escaped?” Magnum questioned, already knowing the answer.

Dropping his eyes in defeat, Wright gave a slight nod. He stayed that way for only a second before beginning to unbutton his overshirt. “What are you doing?” Katsumoto asked, hoping the men weren’t actually considering acquiescing to the investigator’s request.

“Best I can for now in terms of a sling,” Wright replied as he crouched down next to the injured man. TC was already shifting his hold, propping Magnum into a more upright position to make it easier for Rick to bind his arm.

Katsumoto watched in disbelief as Wright made a makeshift sling, effectively pinning Thomas’ arm to his chest and rendering it immobile. “Take a few minutes before we get going,” Rick said, understanding that Magnum needed a short break to prepare himself for what was to come.

Standing up, Wright moved over to where the detective still stood, an incredulous expression on his face. “You’re not seriously considering letting him do this, are you?” Katsumoto hissed softly.

Rick’s expression hardened as he replied. “Thomas is one of the strongest men I know. If he says he’s walking out, then that’s what he’s doing.”

Gordon shifted his hands to his hips, a mix of frustration and worry making his words sharp. “Do you have any idea how much walking with a busted collarbone is going to hurt? The pain will be excruciating.”

“You honestly think he doesn’t know that?” Rick challenged the other man. “That we don’t know how much agony he’s going to be in and that we wouldn’t do anything to save him from that?”

The words stunned Katsumoto for a moment before realization dawned. These men were former soldiers who had survived the ravages of being held prisoner for eighteen months. The pain they’d endured would rival pretty much anything anyone else would have ever experienced. Doubting them now was disrespecting what they’d survived, and that understanding kept him from saying anything more.

Offering a curt nod, Gordon replied, “We’ll be ready to move out in five.”

Rick gave an answering nod, watching as Katsumoto walked back to his men to get them and their prisoners ready to go. Affixing a genial expression to his face, he turned back to his friends and clapped his hands. “Nothing like a nice walk through the rainforest.”

* * *

Walking had been a terrible idea.

Magnum was soaked through with sweat, but he hardly noticed; it was just one more minor inconvenience against a backdrop of pain, agonizing pain that was too small to focus on. He’d done fairly well to begin with – at least, he thought he had. In truth, his friends would probably call him an idiot many times over for willfully refusing to be carried out of the rainforest and back to civilization.

But it wasn’t like he hadn’t had broken bones before. He and pain were old acquaintances, and the deep, relentless ache that came with fractures was something he’d dealt with and overcome numerous times in the past. The first had been a broken arm shortly after his father had died. He’d climbed the large tree in their backyard just to feel closer to his dad who’d spent countless hours flying through the clouds.

It had worked, too, right up until he’d ventured a bit too far out on a particularly large branch, which had promptly snapped beneath his seven-year-old body. He could still recall the weightless feeling as he fell, the sensation sending a thrill of adrenaline through him before he’d landed on the ground twenty feet below. He’d lived with the pain in his arm for two days before his mother had discovered the injury; hiding his hurts from others to keep them from worrying was a habit he’d developed at an early age.

The next had been during his high school years, and even now, the most he’d told his closest friends was that he’d had a mishap involving too much male bravado and a wonky set of wheels, the latter which he refused to elucidate upon. His adventure had earned him six weeks in a plaster cast, but he still counted it as a win after Jenny Parsons insisted on carrying his books for him.

There had been many other injuries, of course; you couldn’t make it through basic training, BUD/S, and countless missions without racking up a few dings and dents along the way. In his mind, this latest one was no different, and just as in the past, he was determined to soldier through, to man up, until relief arrived in the form of a lumpy hospital mattress and some really good drugs.

“Hold up a sec, TM.”

The words drifted over and through him and it took him several seconds before they registered. When they did, he stumbled to a stop, unaware that he was swaying badly and only remaining upright due to TC’s iron grip on his uninjured arm. “Open up, Tommy,” Rick ordered, tipping the water bottle so their friend could drink and replenish some of the copious moisture he’d sweated out.

The water seemed to revive him a bit, and he took in his surroundings as though seeing them for the first time. “Where’r the others?” he slurred.

“Katsumoto sent them on ahead,” Rick explained, not bothering to add that the detective had ordered the men and their prisoners ahead to save Magnum the embarrassment of being seen stumbling along.

“K,” Thomas breathed out, even the simple act of inhaling and exhaling jarring his fragile shoulder. Each step he took sent a fresh stab of hot pain through the broken bone, deepening his misery until it was all encompassing. He’d considered asking to be carried several times, but each time his pride had the words disappearing from his tongue.

“You ready to start walking again?” TC asked, the deep baritone close to his ear.

“Mmhmm,” Thomas hummed, lacking the energy to say anything more.

“He feels really hot,” Rick stated, the man doing his best to support Magnum on his injured side.

“Yeah, pretty sure he’s dealing with an infection,” TC replied, his mind conjuring the image of the compound fracture once more.

“How much farther?” Wright shouted, startling Magnum and making him stumble. “Whoa, sorry man,” the apology flowed immediately after as they struggled to hold the ailing man upright.

“The others should be at the cars in fifteen to twenty,” Katsumoto called back.

TC bit his lip as he did the math in his head. Unburdened by injuries, the other officers had moved easily three times as fast as their current pace. “We’ve got at least another hour ahead of us,” he said softly, Rick nodding in agreement with his assessment.

“He’s not going to make it,” Wright stated as Magnum’s weight pressed heavily against him.

“Not sure he agrees with you,” TC replied, noting that despite Thomas’ deteriorating condition, he still somehow managed to continue his uncoordinated stutter-step.

Suddenly, Magnum planted his feet, the men on either side of him almost losing their grips when he stopped. “Sick,” he managed to rasp before bending forward to heave. It was only his friends’ holds that kept him from falling into the pool of sickness, the bout of vomiting seeming to drain the last of his strength.

When his stomach had finished turning itself inside out, he sagged between the two men, feeling utterly spent and overwhelmed from the sharp throb in his clavicle. “H’rts,” he sobbed out, his breathing shallow and laboured. His features had paled even further than before, and tears of pain leaked out from under tightly squeezed eyelids.

The sight made Rick grit his teeth in anger. “And we’re done,” he announced, TC easily reading his intention to help Magnum down to the ground to rest.

As they began lowering him, Thomas rallied, squinting in confusion at the two men. “Wha’s going on?”

“You’re done, Tommy,” Wright explained, his tone far gentler than the emotion swelling in his chest.

“Done?” Magnum repeated, not understanding what was happening.

“I don’t care how much you hate the idea of being carried out of here,” Rick began. “When you puke because you’re in so much pain from your bones grinding together, it’s time to call it quits. No one disputes that you’re a tough son of a bitch, but I’m not as tough as you and I’m not watching you needlessly suffer another second.” Wright’s voice had grown in volume as he spoke, emotion infusing his words with a mix of frustration and pain.

Magnum blinked owlishly up at his friend, and Rick waited for the man to disagree. When several long seconds had passed, Thomas finally spoke. “Okay.” With that, he closed his eyes, his features relaxing slightly as he passed out.

“Okay?” Rick said incredulously.

Across from him, TC was grinning. It wasn’t often that someone made Wright speechless, but their brother had managed it with his simple agreement. Gaining his feet, he reached across Magnum to give Rick’s arm a friendly slap. “You watch him. Katsumoto and I will rig something to make the rest of the trip easier.” Wright nodded absently, his gaze still firmly fixed to Magnum’s.

As TC turned away, Wright could hear him chuckle as he mumbled to himself. “Gotta move fast before the damn fool wakes up and changes his mind.”

Rick shook his head, a faint smile playing at his lips, agreeing wholeheartedly with his brother’s statement.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to AZGirl for proofing; all remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> This story was based on the day 12 prompt: I think I've broken something: broken down / broken bones / broken trust
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you're so inclined!


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